Merle Ratling

[wilomn]

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I rarely get these, but this one is kinda cool.

[Michelle.C]

,

I rarely get these, but this one is kinda cool.

Sure this is a Merle and not a Chimera? Was either parent a Merle? This guy is super cool. Love it!

[wilomn]

Neither parent looks like him. I don't know who his mom is, there are 4 girls in the tub. What's the difference between merle and chimera?

[Michelle.C]

Neither parent looks like him. I don't know who his mom is, there are 4 girls in the tub. What's the difference between merle and chimera?

Chimera is non-genetic. It's when fraternal twins merge and develop into one individual. Similar as Paradox in Ball Pythons and other reptiles. Since Merle is dominant and neither parent was Merle, I'd imagine this guy is a Chimera/Paradox. You can always breed him back to his dam/siblings and see if it's genetic though. It's possible that one parents was just a very poor Merle. Either way, this guy is wicked awesome and I'm jealous.

[wilomn]

Very interesting. I'll have to take a closer look at them in the morning. Thanks for the info.

[ballpythonluvr]

That is the cutest rat ever Wes! God I miss my two rat females.

[Rhasputin]

One of the parents is either a really poor merle, OR one parent has the merle gene, but is unable to express it because they do not have the dilution gene, but the parents together both produce babies with the dilution gene, able to express the one copy of the dominant 'merle' gene.

Chimera is highly unlikely to happen more than once, so my bet is on the above.

[BHReptiles]

That is an adorable little rat.

[Michelle.C]

One of the parents is either a really poor merle, OR one parent has the merle gene, but is unable to express it because they do not have the dilution gene, but the parents together both produce babies with the dilution gene, able to express the one copy of the dominant 'merle' gene.

Chimera is highly unlikely to happen more than once, so my bet is on the above.

Chimeras have been all over the place in the rat world lately. Non-genetic, true Chimeras. It's odd. lol

With rats, as you said, if there are multiple dilutes, it can be hard to tell if they are Merle or not. What makes me think Chimera is the shade of the base coat. Very uncommon for this dark of a Merle. It appears to be some sort of diluted Mink, likely a Havana, meaning the splotches should NOT be this dark. They should be a diluted Mink as well. As the splotches/spots in Merle rats are the shade of Mink, not Black. Let me put it this way, I've never seen a Merle like this prove to be genetic, but I could be wrong.

If he has Merle in his lines, I agree though. It's likely just a very, very interesting/nice Merle. If there haven't been any Merles, I'd say Chimera. I wish Merles in the rat world looked like this. So very lovely.

Here is a photo of what is believed to be a Mink based Chimera. While she appears Merle, it was not genetic. Several generations were bred and they were not reproduced. She was genetically UK Mink, which is known for it's extremely poor Merling.

[sorraia]

Want! I'd make the long trip out again for one of those!